JUST IN: CINCINNATI BENGAIS – SIGN SUPERSTAR FOR TWO, $15.26MILLION DEAL

The Cincinnati Bengals are going to have a lot of options during the 2024 free agency window but what most people are talking about is whether or not the team will extend elite wide receiver Tee Higgins.  Higgins has been an excellent option since he was drafted with the thirty-third overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.   While the team doesn’t have a tight end, they have a tendency to utilize the 6’4″ wide receiver with long arms in that same capacity as he is certainly their physical option down the field.  The problem is he will be an expensive option to retain.

Higgins is clearly an elite receiver and clearly Cincinnati was saved on multiple plays this season with his ability as a target man.  Below is just one example as the giant target went up on a poor throw to bring in a touchdown and essentially save the game against the Minnesota Vikings.

While Higgins is an instrumental player for Cincinnati, he just wrapped up his four-year rookie contract and will be demanding a big boost.  While it’s difficult to anticipate exactly what Higgins will be demanding, I would anticipate that anywhere in the ballpark north of $20 million per year would be fair value for the star receiver.  After signing elite quarterback Joe Burrow to a $55 million per year contract and anticipating the extension of star receiver Ja’Marr Chase to a $30 to $35 million per year contract, they will most likely be unable to extend their second receiver to that kind of money.  Therefore, the question is who will replace him?

While Higgins is a unique talent that has performed excellently for Cincinnati, the obvious alternative is already on the roster.  To replace Higgins as the target man for Cincinnati, the team selected the 6’3″ Andrei Iosivas in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.  Iosivas proved last season that he was a capable target man as he pulled in fifteen total receptions for four touchdowns.  While he went to Princeton and is relatively unknown as a wide receiver going into the draft, his frame and skillset as a decathlete have made him a perfect replacement for Higgins.

In an analytical perspective, Higgins put up a Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade of 72.1 last season in his limited time on the field due to a series of injuries while Iosivas put up a respectable rookie effort of 61.2.  While those scores can’t account for the special plays Higgins can make, Iosivas would be more than capable in filling in longterm as the Cincinnati target man.  Higgins is an outstanding athlete but Iosivas has established that he can more than fill in for the Clemson man after a solid rookie season.

For More Football News